


Out of Time:Epilogue

by Thursday26



Series: Gothic [2]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), race to the edge - Fandom
Genre: Bitter ending, Epilogue, Folk Tale, M/M, Minor (?) Character Death, Supernatural Elements, not sad exactly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 12:34:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18031829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursday26/pseuds/Thursday26
Summary: The bitter ending to Out of Time: Or the Tale of Hiccup and Toothless and the Curse of Berk. Definitely should read that part first.Hiccup visits Berk.#OoT26





	Out of Time:Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, i'm an angst author and I couldn't help myself!! Sorry! It isn't sad, exactly, but it isn't happy, like I promised at the beginning. so i kept it separate... it kind of stands on its own, but it kind of doesn't. idk, it's in a weird space. Never meant to be part of the original series but I wrote it and I loved it. Warning: my beta cried when she was editing this, so brace yourself!

Hiccup has run out of pages in his journal.

He’s been making do with what he had when he left: he’s gone back to earlier pages and written in the margins, printed as small as he can manage while still being legible, anything to make the pages last longer. But he’s finally run out of space.

He’s lost track of how long he’s been away with Toothless. They’ve been able to travel without meeting any other people. They see dragons all the time, and they are mostly friendly. Some are excited to meet the Alpha, while others are wary. Other than that, it’s been just the two of them.

And it’s been amazing. But Hiccup feels like they should go back to Berk, if only for a little while. There’s still some lingering responsibility for his home village that lingers in the back of Hiccup’s mind. It’s probably been a few years. Berk should be doing well. He hopes Berk is doing well because he knows that if he goes back, and it is a mess, Hiccup won’t be staying long enough to fix it. The thought of spending any amount of time on Berk, even a short visit, sends spikes of ice through his heart.

They’ve been doing well away from Berk. Hiccup can’t remember a time that he’s felt better. Being out here, with Toothless, leaves him light, like he could fly on his own. The air feels clean, cleaner than ever before. The sun shines brighter. The stars feel closer. And Toothless appears to be healthier the longer they’re out here. Hiccup has noticed that Toothless has grown a bit, not too much, but there’s a bit more bulk to him. He’s still streamlined and lithe, but Hiccup has noticed how much stronger Toothless has gotten. Hiccup thinks he’s grown as well. His shoulders may be a little wider, but he can’t think of much else. Any time he sees his reflection, it looks the same as it did when he left, if healthier. And happier.

Visiting Berk terrifies him, but there is part of him that is curious about what’s happened to the village. And they’re only a day out from Berk. He chuckles for moment, thinking about Snotlout and his off-hand comment, all those years ago on the Edge, about the world being round. He has to be right, because Hiccup is sure that he and Toothless have circled it. They have yet to reach the end and fall off. Together, they’ve seen some amazing things, tasted foods that Hiccup cannot even name, seen sights that Hiccup could never have imagined.

They’re airborne right now, casually flying in the direction of Berk. Hiccup can feel it in the air when they are close. Toothless must feel it too, because Hiccup can feel him tense. The air is almost the same, but there’s something heavy in the atmosphere, like something is trying to pull them to the ground. It’s been years, but the air feels like his childhood, cold, wet, and crisp. Although that weight is new and Hiccup has to wonder if it’s always been there.

Hiccup leans one way and they maneuver to a small island. They land gracefully on the beach. It’s a little too small even for hunting, but Hiccup has some leftover provisions and they can always fish if they need food. The sun is low in the east and rising. They flew through the night, weaving through the stars and existing together. Berk isn’t more than a few hours’ flight, Hiccup can make out the island formation on the horizon, but he doesn’t want to be there during the day. He can’t explain it, but he doesn’t need to. Toothless is more than happy to relax for a while. And they’ll have a chance to rest up. They can always visit when night falls.

Hiccup dismounts and helps Toothless out of his saddle, dodging the licks and nuzzles Toothless tries to give him as he does so. Those are more distracting than anything and it never fails to make Hiccup laugh. He should chastise Toothless for his actions, it takes them that much longer to undress, but Hiccup would be lying if he said he didn’t like it. And the way that Toothless acts... it’s like they’ve been separated for years and Toothless is just happy to be in the same space as Hiccup again. Can Hiccup really be upset over that? And as soon as the riding equipment comes off, Hiccup is going to be acting the same way, trying to get as close as he can to his best friend.

Once Toothless is undressed, he starts nipping at Hiccup’s clothes. Hiccup laughs and playfully shoves Toothless away, only far enough that Hiccup can strip without Toothless nipping at him. He wears clothes when they’re flying, but he has Toothless to keep him warm whenever they’re not in the air. He settles in close to Toothless, snuggling under a wing and closing his eyes, intending to have a nap. Toothless pulls Hiccup close with his wings, purring and nuzzling the top of Hiccup’s head. The vibrations travel through Hiccup, soothing him, and he falls asleep within minutes.

~ * ~ * ~

Hidden under the safety of nightfall, Hiccup and Toothless circle high over Berk. Hiccup wants to focus on the village, but there’s some unease in his gut. The stars feel like they’re out of reach and he doesn’t understand why. He and Toothless are high enough that the light from the torches won’t reach them and they’re too high for a night watch to spot them.

Hiccup forces himself to take in the village and he can feel a small smile on his face. Astrid has done well. The houses look sturdy, the streets are clean, and the village is quiet, peaceful. Presumably everyone is asleep. It may be quiet, but Hiccup can imagine the movement and life in the daytime. He can feel the energy that still hangs in the air, even so high up. The air is heavy, but the atmosphere is bright. He wonders if Toothless feels the same.

Toothless croons, catching Hiccup’s attention, and leans one way. Hiccup lays down and lets Toothless guide them through the night. It may have been his idea to visit, but beyond seeing the village with his own eyes, he doesn’t have a plan. He’s happy to let Toothless guide him.

It takes a minute, but Hiccup recognizes Gothi’s hut. The place looks a little well-worn, bleached from the sun, but that’s to be expected. There are some newer panels on the outside, but that’s not surprising over the years, especially with the amount of Terrors Gothi had hanging around. Her hut is still on the highest peak in Berk, high enough that the night watch won’t see them landing, not when they blend in so well with the darkness.

They land with a whisper and Hiccup expects to see Gothi’s Gronckle, Rubyfruit, outside the hut but the dragon that jerks his head up startles Hiccup. “Cloudjumper?” he whispers in disbelief.

The dragon makes a startled sound, eyes darting between Hiccup and Toothless. Then Hiccup can hear him ask, _“Alpha?”_

“What are you doing here?” Hiccup asks, jumping off Toothless’ back, unease settling in his gut. Something is different here, but Hiccup can’t tell just yet. Toothless trots along beside him as Hiccup approaches the older Stormcutter. As he gets closer, Hiccup can start to make out some more details of Cloudjumper’s features.

What he sees makes him pause mid-step. Cloudjumper looks bigger than he remembers. Like he might be a Titanwing soon. Cloudjumper rises to his feet and towers over the two visitors. He bows to them and Toothless nods his head in acknowledgement.

“Is Mom sick?” Hiccup asks, deciding to address the obvious first. That’s the only reason Hiccup can think of Valka being at Gothi’s so late at night. Hiccup wants to be wary of what he’s seeing, but Toothless is still calm, so Hiccup is trying to stay calm.

Cloudjumper shakes his head. _“No.”_

Before Hiccup can ask anything else, Cloudjumper is knocking his tail on the door. The noise is so loud in the dead of night. “Shhhhh!” Hiccup hisses, looking over his shoulder towards the sleeping village below. “I don’t want everyone to know I’m here.”

_“Apologies, Alpha-Mate. She has been waiting days to see you.”_

Hiccup doesn’t get to ask who or what he means: the door to the hut opens and words leave Hiccup. It’s a woman. She’s old, skin more wrinkles than anything else, her hair as white as snow, and she’s leaning on the staff Hiccup remembers Valka having when he first reunited with her. She makes a choked-off noise when their eyes meet, covering her mouth, tears falling from the corners of her eyes. It can’t be. There’s no way…

“Mom?” he asks, not sure if she’s a stranger or a trick of the eye.

She rushes at Hiccup as fast as her legs can carry her. Hiccup hurries to meet her, scared that she will break something in her haste. She wraps her arms around him, dropping her staff and squeezes Hiccup as tightly as she can manage. Hiccup makes a noise as all the air is squeezed from him. She’s stronger than she looks and she’s crying. Hiccup has no idea what he should do, still not sure if this is Valka or not. He pats her awkwardly on the back, a poor offer of comfort.

Toothless croons and Hiccup snaps his attention to his mate. Toothless is offering the staff she dropped. It seems like that’s enough to calm the woman down. “Thank you,” she chokes out, taking the staff from the dragon and tugging Hiccup towards the hut. “Come inside. I bet you have a lot of questions.” As she says this, she has a smile on her face, even with the tears still running down it.

Hiccup follows, unsure of what else he can do. Toothless stays outside, sitting next to Cloudjumper, as Hiccup is pulled inside. He does have a lot of questions. First off: who is this woman? Is she really Valka? _Can_ she be Valka? Inside the hut, there’s a small candle burning and Hiccup can see the woman better. He can start to see the similarities between his mother and this woman. She does look like Valka, just much older. Her eyes are the same, the set of her mouth, the wrinkle in her brow, just… everything is surrounded by wrinkles now, evidence of a life lived. Hiccup can see the laughter in the lines around her mouth and eyes, the anger in those same lines, confusion in the wrinkles in her brow. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it back in time,” she says, sitting at the table with a heavy sigh.

Hiccup stares at her for a moment, standing awkwardly across from her. “Back in time for what?” he asks, voice cracking. She smiles, soft and sad, and gestures for Hiccup to take the seat across from her. He does so, stiffly.

“You can probably tell, but I don’t have much longer for this world. I could feel that you were close, and I was scared that I wouldn’t get to see you again before I left for Valhalla.” She smiles again, but also starts to cry. “I was scared I’d never get to see you again…”  

Hiccup opens his mouth, but she continues to talk. “I’m not sure you’re even real. It’s been so long since you’ve left and you look exactly the same.” She sobs a little bit. “I don’t care if you aren’t real. I wanted to see you before I died and the gods have blessed me.”

Then it hits Hiccup all at once. “Mom,” he says, lump in his throat. There’s no question in his mind anymore. This is Valka. He reaches over the table and holds her hand. Her grip gets tight enough that Hiccup’s bones start to creak. “I’m really sorry, mom…” He pauses, thinking carefully about what he wants to know. “How long have I been gone?”

She gives him a pensive look and answers, “A long time.” It’s cryptic, but Hiccup isn’t sure that he wants to know the less cryptic answer.

“Where’s Gothi?”

“Gone. She’s been gone for decades.” She sighs and looks around the hut. “I took her mantle and have been healing the people of Berk since.”

Hiccup’s eyes widen. “What about your vow of silence?”

Valka laughs. “My vow has been passed onto the next healer. He’s living in the village until I pass.” She smiles at him again. “He reminds me so much of you. Looks exactly like you did when you were young.”

“Hrein?” he asks, although he knows he’s wrong.

She shakes her head. “Hrein’s youngest son.”

Hiccup wants to ask about Astrid, ask about Fishlegs, but he can’t bring himself to. He’s scared of what she’ll tell him. “How is Hrein?” he asks instead, hoping to get some good news. He doesn’t feel affection like a father should, but he doesn’t hate the child anymore.

“He sits on the council. Runa is the chief, his eldest daughter.”

Hiccup feels like he can’t breathe. There are whole parts of his legacy that are a mystery to him. He may not have cared for Hrein, but Hrein is his legacy and it’s hard to not think about what has happened since he’s been gone. What has happened to the Haddock bloodline? Is there a curse on his descendants, like there was on him?

He can’t speak. There’s nothing to say, because Hiccup _doesn’t know_. He is a stranger in this place. “Why did you come back?” Valka asks, cutting through his thoughts, gentle.

Hiccup stares at her for a moment. He has to ask himself if he’s “back.” And, in his heart, he knows that he’s not. He didn’t come here to return. He came to see how Berk was doing, to satiate his own curiosity about what he left behind. His “back” is Toothless, wherever he may be, wherever he may go.

“I ran out of paper,” Hiccup admits, pulling his stuffed journal from its pocket on his side. He never realized how much he filled it. The binding is stretched and it’s all held together by a worn piece of twine.

Valka’s eyes widen. She holds out her hand, but doesn’t grab the journal from him. She waits, allowing Hiccup the chance to share if he wants to. Hiccup hesitates. He’s written absolutely everything inside this journal: every thought, every emotion, every finding. Everything that is written is _him_ , who he is… who he turned into. Can he share that with his mother?

After a few moments of silence, he places it into her hand and watches her open it. She’s careful, but quick, flipping over page after page, scanning each too quickly to be reading any of it. There are drawings on nearly every page. Sometimes it’s a plant, or a rock formation, or a new island that he found. Most of the drawings are of Toothless, or parts of Toothless.

She stops on a particular picture that has Hiccup’s cheeks flaming. On that page, there is only one drawing, surrounded by his tiny print. Hiccup can remember the day he drew it like it was yesterday. Toothless was lounging in the sun, on his back, purring happily. Hiccup was sitting across from him, warm. They were somewhere where having Toothless close in the daytime overheated Hiccup. Hiccup had been idly sketching his mate, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his bare skin. Toothless had peeked at Hiccup through heavy eyelids and stretched into a nice position to be drawn, posing for him. Hiccup smiled and adjusted his sketch to the new position, soaking in the heat and teasing Toothless with certain noises he knew would rile the dragon up.

Needless to say, he didn’t finish the drawing in one sitting.

Valka runs her fingers over the charcoal, reverent. She closes the journal without looking at another page, handing it back to Hiccup. “I can get you a new journal, but I won’t be able to get it until mid-day, when the traders come by.”

Hiccup takes back the journal, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He tucks it back into its proper pocket and says, “Thank you. I’ll come back at nightfall. I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to be around Berk in the daylight.”

He stands up and Valka grabs his arm, her eyes wide. “Don’t leave yet! You could walk around Berk in disguise.”

Hiccup pauses. He thought about that earlier… but “What about Toothless?” It’s really the only question. There’s nowhere he goes that Toothless doesn’t go as well and a Night Fury wandering around with a stranger wouldn’t be very conspicuous.

Valka releases him, resigned. A stab of guilt goes through Hiccup’s gut, but he can’t change his mind. The longer he’s on Berk, the more uncomfortable he feels. The sky keeps on feeling farther and farther away, There’s part of him that thinks something is wrong. He doesn’t regret leaving Berk, but he does regret how his decision has hurt his mother. “I’m sorry,” he kisses her forehead, “but I can’t stay… I know you can feel it, too.”

She sniffs and nods, wiping at her face. “I wish I could take you with me,” he tells her, and he means it.

She shakes her head. “No, I’ve already had my adventure.” She looks to the doorway and Hiccup follows her gaze. The door is still open and Toothless is sitting there, watching them with a curious tilt to his head. Hiccup’s chest warms at the sight of those big, green eyes. “This is _your_ adventure, Hiccup. I can’t interfere. I can only help it continue.”

He hugs her once more and leaves. Something is pressing around his heart and he feels like he needs to leave now. Some of that tension eases when Hiccup hops onto Toothless’ back. Toothless purrs when Hiccup is where he’s supposed to be and they take off without another word. They fly together until the pain in Hiccup’s chest is almost gone. The sun is starting to come up.

They land on a small island, not the same one from the night before, and talk. Hiccup tells Toothless everything he learned from his mother and Toothless shares everything he learned from Cloudjumper. The dragons are doing well in Berk, but there’s a… feeling with the humans that is starting to upset the dragons. Cloudjumper shared that when Valka passed, he would find another island or find Vanaheim, and that he has a feeling that the others will follow. It’s been long enough that the only connection the Berkians seem to have with the dragons lies with Valka.

Hiccup tries not to think about Fishlegs and the Dragon Academy. He never thought he would live long enough to see Berk become dragon-free, without violence. From what he understands from what Toothless has told him, the dragons are just going to leave.

Hiccup cries.

He knew that he cut off his connections to Berk when he left, but he never would have believed that he wouldn’t recognize the place where he grew up. It’s surreal and Hiccup doesn’t know if he can reconcile that disconnect he feels now. There’s no way he can return.

With a bitter laugh, he realizes that, like the dragons, his only connection to Berk lies with his mother. Once she’s gone... There’s nothing there for him.

~ * ~ * ~

Hiccup and Toothless land on Berk just before nightfall this time, before everyone is in their houses for the night. Hiccup can’t help his own curiosity at seeing this Berk he can’t recognize. The two stick to the shadows, watching people go by. Hiccup doesn’t recognize anyone. The people are louder and they talk differently than he’s used to. Not enough that Hiccup can’t understand them, but there are words that Hiccup doesn’t understand. And words that he knows being used in weird contexts. Near the Great Hall, he can hear singing and he doesn’t recognize their songs. Passing a farm, Hiccup notes that the sheep look different.

Through all this unfamiliarity, one face stands out. It’s similar to his, but older in a way. A face that holds the potential to age. It’s something that Hiccup can’t see in his own reflection. This face must belong to Hrein’s youngest. He looks quiet and kind. He waves to people and has a Terror wrapped around his neck. The Terror is whispering something to him, but Hiccup can’t hear what it is over the crowd and he is intensely curious about what the Terror would want to say.

Then he stops walking. Hiccup holds his breath and freezes when he looks directly at where Hiccup is hiding. He watches Hiccup, not moving. People walk around him, unfazed. His blue eyes are wide, but he doesn’t do anything else. The Terror nips at his cheek, startling him into motion again. He finds Hiccup’s eyes and nods to him, disappearing into the crowd a moment later.

Hiccup can’t stay. He urges Toothless to leave and they visit Valka’s hut. She has a large journal ready for him and a handful of charcoal. They share another hug and Hiccup leaves. He can’t _stay._ He _can’t._

They fly until the sun starts to rise again. When they land, Toothless doesn’t allow Hiccup to remove anything, curling Hiccup into his wings and purring until whatever weight Hiccup is feeling dissolves.  Hiccup cries himself to sleep.

~ * ~ * ~

Hiccup doesn’t travel far for a while. This time, he can feel the days passing, but he has a reason to stick around. It takes only eight days for Hiccup to see the boat. He offers his prayers to the gods, to Valhalla, as he watches the boat go up in flames.

Then he sees the large form of Cloudjumper leaving the island. Hiccup can’t stay and watch the rest of the dragons leave. Toothless is a steady presence at Hiccup’s side, quiet and reassuring. Hiccup is glad for the company, yet he can’t find voice to tell Toothless that. Although, he’s pretty sure that Toothless knows.

They leave without a word and fly forever. The sun rises and sets, the days blending together once again.

This feels right, closer to right, but things only finally click fully back into place when they manage to find an uninhabited island and can be naked together, pressed as close as they can manage. Toothless’ heartbeat resonates through him and everything slots into place again. That’s the day that he starts writing in the journal his mother got for him.

The first thing Hiccup does is draw Valka, as she was when he left and when he saw her again. He offers a prayer to her, out loud this time, the first words he’s spoken since he watched her funeral. He thanks her because it feels right to do so.

~ * ~ * ~

Dragons are myths now. The people on Berk speak of their history and how it intertwined with the legend of the dragon. Other nations laugh and mock their folly, the idea of dragons so foreign to their minds that they cannot comprehend these creatures. The Berkians know better.

They talk of their healer and seer, Valka, in the days before her death, a death that took so long to come, outliving most of the youth her son’s age. Of the chief who left Berk and it turned out to be the best decision. In those days, Valka told the stories of the winds, and the Berkians knew she spent her last days speaking the truth.

They know the different winds on the sea, when they reach open water. Sometimes the wind is violent and unrelenting, tossing ships until they are nothing but splinters. Other times there is no wind and sailors must rely on their own power to move. Then there is the perfect wind, the wind that fills the sails just right and boats cut through water like nothing else and flies over the surface of the sea.

On those days, when the wind is perfect and the fishermen or tradesmen feel their hearts light at the sight of their full sails and their boats glide inches above the water, they know they can look to the sky and see a dark figure moving through the white clouds. It’s always too high to see well, and moves too fast to see for long, but they know the wind will blow in the direction the dark figure went in for hours.

They know the alpha dragon has blessed their travels and they always send a prayer of thanks. The story of the wind has evolved to only include the dragon alpha, but the older generations will tell stories that the wind is a gift from the dragon alpha and his mate, his human mate.

Those who are older, and those who know the true story, know that the dragon and his mate will be blessing travels until they decide to stop. They know the dragon alpha and his mate fly beyond the bounds of mortality and they exist in a space where time cannot catch them.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are always Appreciated!!! thank you everyone who stuck through this whole adventure! 
> 
>  
> 
> [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/_Thursday_26)


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